Garments

ARTICLES ABOUT GARMENTS BY DATE - PAGE 4

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A fire swept through a garment factory outside Moscow on Tuesday, killing at least 14 Vietnamese migrant workers, Russian emergency officials said. Firefighters sent to put out the blaze found 14 bodies in the factory in the town of Yegoryevsk, southeast of Moscow, and four victims were hospitalized with burns, the Moscow region emergencies department said. All those killed were Vietnamese citizens, the Federal Emergency Situations Ministry said. The Interfax news agency said the garment factory was illegal.

By Serajul Quadir and Ruma Paul DHAKA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's $19 billion garments industry attracts some of the world's biggest clothing brands because of low costs, but many retailers say unrest over pay and delayed shipping schedules are eroding that advantage. The killing of a labour activist and increasing publicity of unsanitary and unsafe working conditions at the country's 4,500 garment factories is also making some retailers worried about their reputation.

DHAKA (Reuters) - The owners of 300 Bangladesh garments factories shut their operations indefinitely on Saturday after days of violent pay protests by workers, threatening the country's biggest export already impacted by the global downturn. The decision to close all factories at Ashulia, one of the country's biggest industrial zones on the outskirts Dhaka, came as talks between workers and owners had failed to break the deadlock. "We have been compelled to close down all our factories at Ashulia," said Mohammad Shafiul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Cashmere. Just the word conjures images of sophistication. Like caviar and pearls, the fiber has humble beginnings. Who would think that the hair on the underbelly of the Mongolian goat would be in such high demand? But it has been for centuries, and because there is relatively little of it and because processing costs are high, it has traditionally been an indulgence. So why is it that nowadays even Costco is selling it? Walk into any mall and you'll come across cashmere sweaters in such a variety of prices your head might spin: $1,000 or $59.99?

What goes up must come down, particularly when it's a billboard in Times Square picturing the president in an advertiser's overcoat. Weatherproof Garment Co. was so thrilled to see a photograph of President Barack Obama wearing one of the company's coats while standing atop the Great Wall of China that it paid for the image and slapped it on a billboard in New York's highest-profile spot. The company has since agreed to remove the ad at the urging of an unhappy White House. However, it appears that taking down a billboard is no easy task -- it will take about two weeks, the company maintains.

When you're sick, the sight of a doctor dressed in a trusty white lab coat can be as comforting as chicken noodle soup. But in reality, that white coat -- long associated with healing, cleanliness and authority -- could be a cesspool of germs. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1.7 million patients acquired infections at hospitals in 2002, resulting in almost 100,000 deaths. While there is no conclusive evidence that germs found on the sleeves of lab coats, neckties or other clothing caused those deaths, the American Medical Association is studying a measure that would urge hospitals to adopt dress codes to minimize the spread of infection.

Alfred Shaheen, a textile manufacturer who revolutionized the garment industry in postwar Hawaii by designing, printing and producing aloha shirts and other ready-to-wear items under one roof, has died. He was 86. Mr. Shaheen died Dec. 22 of complications from diabetes in Torrance, his daughter Camille Shaheen-Tunberg said. After World War II, many servicemen and women returned to the U.S. from Asia and the Pacific islands with aloha shirts that had been made in Hawaii since the 1930s.

When author Frederica Mathewes-Green converted to Greek Orthodoxy, she couldn't figure out why her church friends were always presenting her with small, solemn-faced portraits of Christ, the Virgin Mary and other biblical figures. The givers obviously cherished the inexpensive images, while "I would look at them and think: 'This is a mass-produced picture,'" Mathewes-Green said. That was before she came to understand the spiritual significance of the gifts. The images weren't just saints in trading-card form.

I love ... ... the Brass Restaurant and Brewery [105 Hollywood Blvd., South Barrington]. After the first few nibbles of slices in the bread basket, I requested replacements as well as an entire loaf to take home. -- Wendi Mancini, Chicago ... that more and more lingerie and T-shirt manufacturers are stamping their label information into their garments rather than putting it on a separate label, which can make the garment uncomfortable to wear. -- Lila Petitti, Northbrook ... when I write a letter of complaint to a company and the firm is courteous enough to send me an answer with an apology.